The shift is occurring, policy analysts and others say, as employers feel more pressure from the weak economy and the threat of even more expensive coverage under the new health care law.

In contrast to past practices of absorbing higher prices, some companies chose this year to keep their costs the same by passing the entire increase in premiums for family coverage onto their workers, according to a new survey released on Thursday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit research group.

Workers’ share of the cost of a family policy jumped an average of 14 percent, an increase of about $500 a year. The cost of a policy rose just 3 percent, to an average of $13,770.

During my life as a Christian, I have learned that God gave humans dominion over planet Earth, Eden, if you will.

As part of our dominion, we are responsible for it's use and misuse and when judgment day comes, we all be judged with how we used/misused our gifts.

Seems fair enough to me.

But what I don't get is the mindset of your average global warming kook. For instance.....

1) Many of these people tend to be humanists, meaning they don't have a belief in an after life. In fact, many believe our souls are no different than your average horse, cheetah, snake or flea.

If that's the case, then why do you care so much about saving the planet? I mean, who the hell are we actually saving it for? An unborn and/or yet to be conceived kangaroo? Seems kind of odd given that most environmentalist don't seem to have a problem whacking an unborn human from a womb. Shouldn't that person get a chance to experience this wonderful world? Or at least as much as a future extinct animal or plant?

2) Since so many of these folks believe that humans are no different than a dog, elk or hippo, what's the big deal about their procreation? Let's face it every animal in the animal kingdom live to do four things..... eat, crap, procreate and become food for another. What exactly makes that wrong for humans?

3) If you truly believe, like Discovery boy does, that humans continued procreation is a problem for the rest of nature. Then explain to me why exactly you are still here on earth chewing up vitally important carbon?

Seriously. How is it that your continued abuse of carbon is somehow better than the carbon use of some unborn human (animal) yet to be born?

And who the hell are you to look down on Jon and Kate's eight when you won't say word one to the neighborhood rat who's had seventy five babies? And let's face, it most of us were probably a product of some family with 6 plus kids somewhere along the family tree.

Finally, where exactly is the environmentalist outcry over the crazy carbon abuses from those like Al Gore, Sheryl Crow et al. Al Gore maintains over 300,000 square feet of housing for his family and is on a jet heading to some conference nearly every day. With today's technology, he could very easily do all these presentations via teleconference. Ever heard of Skype?

Sheryl Crow has no problem loading up a tour bus full of roadies, semi's full of equipment, flying to all these venues, for what? To listen to music we could have on a DVD. To say it's about the live experience; that's bull. When The Gekko's saw Eric Clapton this summer, we were so far away from the stage, we ended up watching on a TV anyway.

I'll start buying in to the eco lib religious indoctrination as soon as they start walking the talk. Going into a Discovery condemning someone else for doing what you're not willing to do on your own doesn't qualify.

In the punditry business, it's considered bad form to question the essential wisdom of the American people. But at this point, it's impossible to ignore the obvious: The American people are acting like a bunch of spoiled brats.

This is not, I repeat not, a partisan argument. My own political leanings are well-known, but the refusal of Americans to look seriously at the nation's situation -- and its prospects -- is an equal-opportunity scourge. Republicans got the back of the electorate's hand in 2006 and 2008; Democrats will feel the sting this November. By 2012, it will probably be the GOP's turn to get slapped around again.

The nation demands the impossible: quick, painless solutions to long-term, structural problems. While they're running for office, politicians of both parties encourage this kind of magical thinking. When they get into office, they're forced to try to explain that things aren't quite so simple -- that restructuring our economy, renewing the nation's increasingly rickety infrastructure, reforming an unsustainable system of entitlements, redefining America's position in the world and all the other massive challenges that face the country are going to require years of effort. But the American people don't want to hear any of this. They want somebody to make it all better. Now.

This is the biggest pile of caca I've ever read by someone who reports to be educated in some manner.

First, how about this. How about a government that just quits making things worse? In the world of Eugene Robinson, we should be grateful for that 10% unemployment that we probably wouldn't have if the government hadn't gotten involved. See Germany.

Second, no one is asking for painless. Chris Christie is delivering the necessary and the electorate seems to be responding positively because they know the tough choices have to be made and he's laying it out for the public.

Third, there's a football coach in this town who repeats the mantra "do your job!". Unfortunately, in this country, we have a federal government, who's principal responsibility is to secure our borders for our national defense, who is not only refusing to do it's job, it's suing any state who decides to do it for them.

All the while bailing out every damn special interest group with hands.

Fourth, only in political punditry are spending cuts considered "draconian". But let me ask you a question. Do you think the people in New Jersey are experiencing a different government as a result of Christie "slashing" the budget?

The problem with our government is not the lack of funds. It's a total lack of responsibility & accountability of our elected officials to spend money as if it were coming out of their own wallets.

They called it ParadiseThe place to beThey watched the hazy sunSinking in the sea

If you ever wanted to understand how it is that unemployment in this country is nearly 10% and 13% in the golden state, you need look no further than how liberals treat tax paying and job creating businesses.........

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday rebuked Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro Corp., which operate refineries in Wilmington, for bankrolling a measure that would effectively scuttle the state's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

"Go home, Texas oil companies," Villaraigosa urged at a news conference aimed at encouraging voters to oppose Proposition 23, a November ballot initiative to suspend California's 2006 climate change law until the state's unemployment rate drops. "We won't compromise our environmental and health standards so you can make more money," he said.

The sharp tone was an early indication of the battle expected over the measure, which proponents say would save jobs and lower energy costs but that opponents say will choke California's pioneering effort to reduce planet-warming pollutants and attract alternative-energy jobs.

A pistol-packing grandmother in Decatur hopes intruders will think twice before messing with her again.

Police say 69-year-old Ethel Jones shot 18-year-old Michael O'Neal Bynum in the abdomen when she said she found him inside her bedroom. Bynum lived less than 200 yards from Jones, but she said she didn't know him.

"I hope this will make people have second thoughts before they break into a home in our neighborhood and stop some of the crime we've had around here," she told The Decatur Daily.

Jones said she sleeps with her gun under a pillow next to her. She said she was going to the bathroom shortly before 3 a.m. Monday when she thought she heard someone at her back door and then her front door. She grabbed her gun as a precaution and came out of the bathroom to find someone in her bedroom with a pen light.

"I shot three times, and he ran away bleeding," she said.

Now in 2008 did Ethel pull the lever for Four More years of Bush or Hope and Change?

Conversely, did burglar Michael Bynum pull the lever for The Maverick or The Messiah?

It's the beginning of the month. It seems like a good time to remind people of candidate Obama and how his administration is doing exactly what he said it would. Contrary to what Peggy Noonan, David Brooks, Kathleen Parker, et al seemed to believe..........

I'm old enough to remember when you could have 5 - 10 kids in a car or back of a pick up truck. None of them belted in or in car seats.

But after reading this I have to wonder if that wasn't a lot safer than what we're doing with kids today.........

Leawood, KS - August 27, 2010 - Children are dying in hot cars at alarming rates. At least thirty-nine (39) children have died so far this year with more summer weather still to come. Eleven (11) of those children perished since the beginning of August. Approximately 50% of the 2010 incidents involved children getting into an unlocked vehicle on their own and the other half were unknowingly ‘forgotten’ by an adult caregiver who became distracted when they left the vehicle. It takes only minutes for a child to be at risk of death and serious, permanent injury in a hot car.

“This heartbreaking news can only be met with the need to increase awareness about these predictable but very preventable tragedies,” said Janette Fennell, founder and president of KidsAndCars.org. “We are reaching out to the media to request their assistance to add warning messages during their broadcasts, include safety tips in print media and on their web sites.” A map that provides information about the number of vehicular heat stroke fatalities for each state can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/KidsAndCarsorg/128148590541866?ref=ts

The overall goal of the outreach campaign is to ensure no more children die in 2010 because they were locked inside a hot vehicle. “It is vital to engage the power of the media to get this life-saving information into the hands of families quickly and with the same high profile frequency used during product recalls or anytime eminent danger befalls America’s children” Fennell added. “We want parents and caregivers to take immediate precautions so that a similar tragedy does not happen to them or anyone in their family.”

Here's an idea. Let's have the kids in the front seat where people can actually see them while they're driving.

Oh we can't do that because of the damn air bags in the cars that make them "safer".

U.S. auto sales in August probably were the slowest for the month in 28 years as model-year closeout deals failed to entice consumers concerned the economy is worsening and they may lose their jobs.

Industrywide deliveries, to be released tomorrow, may have reached an annualized rate of 11.6 million vehicles this month, the average of eight analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That would be the slowest August since 1982, according to researcher Ward’s AutoInfoBank. The rate would be 18 percent below last year’s 14.2 million pace, when the U.S. government’s “cash for clunkers” incentive program boosted sales.

“Home sales are way down, the stock market is way down, the unemployment report is very disappointing and consumer confidence is sputtering,” Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends at TrueCar.com, said in an interview. “People just don’t want to make big-ticket purchases because they’re uncertain about their jobs and the value of their homes.”

While automakers increased discounts by 1 percent from July to an average of $2,864 per vehicle, sales to individuals probably fell 7 percent from last month, according to Santa Monica, California-based TrueCar.

Before you go believing that Muslims in New York are the only religious group being denied an opportunity to express their religious freedoms by building a structure, you need to read this.

Here in Porkopolis, there has been an on going feud with a Methodist church and the neighbors in Hyde Park, a nice area within the city.

Apparently, these people hate Christians. How else do you explain the continued fighting of the neighbors with an already existing church who simply wants to build addition and parking to their facility?

It's been awhile since we've provided an update on our neighborhood situation regarding Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church (HPCUMC). This has been because we have, since September, been in formal mediation with HPCUMC in an attempt to satisfactorily resolve our neighborhood dispute in a way that provided adequate protection to our neighborhood, as promised by HPCUMC in their 2001 letter.

As a bit of background, we agreed with HPCUMC last September to formally initiate a mediation process. We jointly engaged a highly respected mediator with substantial experience in issues like ours. HPCUMC designated one of their members, along with their legal counsel, to be members of their mediation team; Keith Harrison and Tim Burke represented PHP. The mediation team met on three separate occasions during the course of the Fall, with each session lasting 2-4 hours. In addition, the outside mediator met with a small group of neighbors on two different occasions to understand neighborhood concerns and to explore different possible scenarios.

Just who do these people believe they are? Denying the rights of a religious groups to justify their carnal NIMBY impulses.

Of course, everyone knows that the Methodists have backed terrorists for years and the building of this facility is just an attempt to rub the noses of the nearby Presbyterians and Catholics in it. In addition, Methodists were probably responsible for bringing down 100 story building in Hyde Park Square.

Actually, I've been meaning to get down there to take some photographs. As soon as I do, you'll be able to see how those Methodists have run down the Hyde Park Hood.

None the less, it's nice to see that Americans are not out just hating on those pesky Methodists.

One of the things that makes the environment greener is auto trade ins.

See, I want a new car so I trade in my older but perfectly functional automobile. The lower income guy who can't afford a new car then buys my car and gets rid of his oil burning jalopy which barely runs.

Call it recycling.

But in the world of cash for clunkers, lower income guy can't buy my car because he can't afford it.

Why?

Because in the world of cash for clunkers cars like mine got destroyed causing the market for those cars to sky rocket so that Joe Sixpack can no longer afford that car.......

If buying a used car is among your cost-cutting measures...be prepared to pay up to 30-percent more than you did last year.

It is a simple case of supply and demand.

Trouble is...there are fewer used cars.

The cash-for-clunkers program took a bunch off the market.

Plus, Edmunds Senior Editor Bill Visnick says 5-million fewer new cars were sold last year...which pares down the used car supply even more.

Thanks Mr./Ms. Liberal for helping out the working guy on Main Street.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Lawn seat tickets to see Toby Keith at Riverbend Music Center: $33.50, pre-service charges of course.

Price of a 16-ounce U.S.-made frosty malt adult beverage at the start of the show: $6.

Price to get out of jail for one concert-goer who admitted in court Monday that he drank way too much: $80,000.

Forrest Frankenstein, 39, of Hamilton appeared in court with fresh metal sutures in his head Monday after he repeatedly smashed the top of his skull into a partition of a police vehicle, police records say.

This act of self-destruction came after he allegedly kicked a window from its frame in another police cruiser.

Police reports say Frankenstein approached Hamilton County Sheriff's Office deputies at the Toby Keith concert and threatened to kill them multiple times at 11:30 Friday evening.

Frankenstein's arrest on two counts of menacing, disorderly conduct and vandalism was his first serious offense in Hamilton County.

"Mr. Frankenstein you went crazy. What happened?" Judge Bernie Bouchard asked Monday before setting bond at $20,000 for each of the four charges.

Frankenstein: "I started drinking."

So in 2008, did Forrest here vote for Four More Years of Bush or Hope & Change?

Growing up, I was never much of a Bob Dylan fan. But once The Lovely Mrs. Gekko turned me on to the all the Dylan influences, I started listening to his music in a different light and now I'm a huge fan.

It didn't hurt my appreciation of Dylan to learn this story of Bob totally dissing Andy Warhol at the factory.

Says Bruce Kessler. The reason: The school chose one book to give to all incoming freshman to read to give a sense of a "common experience," and the book is "How Does It Feel To Be A Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America," written by "a radical pro-Palestinian professor" who happens to teach at Brooklyn College.

[The book contains] interviews with seven Arab-Americans in their 20s about their experiences and difficulties in the US. There’s appreciation of freedoms in the US, and deep resentment at feeling or being discriminated against post-9/11....

The title of the book is drawn from communist WEB DuBois’ same question in 1903 in his treatise The Souls of Black Folk. The current book consciously draws a parallel, ridiculous on its face, between the horrible and pervasive discrimination and injustices that Blacks were subjected to a century ago and Arab-Americans today.

The author asserts “The core issue [of Middle East turbulence] remains the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination,” that the post-1967 history of the entire area is essentially that of “imperialism American-style,” and that the US government “limits the speech of Arab Americans in order to cement United States policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Again, preposterous....

Online I found two professors who protested to the college president. One, retired from Brooklyn College, said: "This is wholly inappropriate. It smacks of indoctrination. It will intimidate incoming students who have a different point of view (or have formed no point of view), sending the message that only one side will be approved on this College campus. It can certainly intimidate untenured faculty as well."

I can't imagine wanting freshman to get the message that they are about to be indoctrinated. On the up side, for freshman: If the school makes it clear right in the first week, you may still be in a position to quit and get your tuition back. If they're subtle about it — and it's so easy to be subtle about it — you're drawn into it. Clear efforts at indoctrination are repugnant. One recoils. It's like evil-tasting poison. The evil taste is a great benefit. You reflexively spit it out.

The state's miserable bond rating has driven up borrowing costs for state government by more than $500 million since last year, a government watchdog group says.

The nonpartisan, Chicago-based Civic Federation analyzed the near-record borrowing that the state has undertaken since last September and looked at similar borrowing during the same period in other states that have higher bond ratings than Illinois.

The result was a staggering $551.3 million extra that state taxpayers are having to devote to support the state's thirst for debt because of a series of rating downgrades, the group says in a report being released today.

"This is an actual quantification of what the cost of the state's fiscal irresponsibility has been because of the Illinois General Assembly and governor's failure to stabilize state finances and to allow our credit rating to drop so low we are now the lowest credit-rated state in the country, with California," said Laurence Msall, the Civic Federation's president.

Longtime Dallas congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnsonhas awarded thousands of dollars in college scholarships to four relatives and a top aide’s two children since 2005, using foundation funds set aside for black lawmakers’ causes.

The recipients were ineligible under anti-nepotism rules of the Congressional Black CaucusFoundation, which provided the money. And all of the awards violated a foundation requirement that scholarship winners live or study in a caucus member’s district.

Johnson, a Democrat, denied any favoritism when asked about the scholarships last week. Two days later, she acknowledged in a statement released by her office that she had violated the rules but said she had done so “unknowingly” and would work with the foundation to “rectify the financial situation.”

The Ground Zero mosque is an affront to the sensibilities of ordinary Americans. "The center's association with 9/11 is intentional and its location is no geographic coincidence," as the Associated Press has reported. That Americans would find this offensive is a matter of simple common sense. The liberal elites cannot comprehend common sense, and, incredibly, they think that's a virtue. After all, common sense is so common.

The British philosopher Roger Scruton has coined a term to describe this attitude: oikophobia. Xenophobia is fear of the alien; oikophobia is fear of the familiar: "the disposition, in any conflict, to side with 'them' against 'us', and the felt need to denigrate the customs, culture and institutions that are identifiably 'ours.' " What a perfect description of the pro-mosque left.

Scruton was writing in 2004, and his focus was on Britain and Europe, not America. But his warning about the danger of oikophobes--whom he amusingly dubs "oiks"--is very pertinent on this side of the Atlantic today, and it illuminates how what are sometimes dismissed as mere matters of "culture" tie in with economic and social policy:

The oik repudiates national loyalties and defines his goals and ideals against the nation, promoting transnational institutions over national governments, accepting and endorsing laws that are imposed on us from on high by the EU or the UN, though without troubling to consider Terence's question, and defining his political vision in terms of universal values that have been purified of all reference to the particular attachments of a real historical community.

The oik is, in his own eyes, a defender of enlightened universalism against local chauvinism. And it is the rise of the oik that has led to the growing crisis of legitimacy in the nation states of Europe. For we are seeing a massive expansion of the legislative burden on the people of Europe, and a relentless assault on the only loyalties that would enable them voluntarily to bear it. The explosive effect of this has already been felt in Holland and France. It will be felt soon everywhere, and the result may not be what the oiks expect.

An Elmwood Place police officer who stopped a car because it had illegally tinted windows received a bit of a shock when he looked inside.

Officer Ross Gilbert said the driver, Colondra Hamilton, a 36-year-old Downtown resident, was sitting with her pants unzipped and a sex toy in her lap.

He said Hamilton told him she was using the toy while watching a sex video on a laptop computer that a passenger in the front seat held up so she could see it.

Gilbert charged her with "driving with inappropriate alertness" and having illegal tinted windows, according to the traffic ticket.

My God! at least she wasn't texting!

I think guessing her vote might be a tough one. Let's face it. She can multitask which would seem to make her a natural republican. But the porn while driving might make her a natural democratic constituent.